The Cipher
by Godfather
Summary: YJK story. Zekk has left the Academy and becomes a bounty hunter. He is offered an assignment from the rich Foln to capture a girl named Kima Li whom Zekk is told is a terrorist. however, things aren't always as they appear.Please.I beg of you. REVIEW!!
1. Default Chapter

Bleep, Bleep,Bleeeep.  
  
"What is it D-1?" Zekk asked as he tinkered with the secondary refresher systems onboard his newly remodeled ship, the Lightning Rod.  
  
Another series of bleeps answered his question.  
  
Putting down the hydrospanner he'd been working with, Zekk walked over to the comm. station and pushed a button to acknowledge whoever it was trying to contact him.  
  
After a few seconds of static, the viewscreen lit up to show a male Devaronian, hands clasped behind his back. On either side of him was a well -armed Trandoshan bodyguard.  
  
"Greetings, Hunter Zekk." The Devaronian known as Foln said in a surprisingly cultured voice.  
  
"Hello yourself," Zekk muttered. "Look, if you're wondering whether I."  
  
"Oh, of course not," Foln assured him. "I simply thought you might want to know that we have traced Kima to somewhere around the remains of Alderaan."  
  
"How?"  
  
Foln looked surprised, as if the answer should have been obvious. "Kima got into a little skirmish with one of the other bounty hunters I hired. Unfortunately, she killed him an the only damage she sustained was hyperdrive failure and 43% reduction in engine capability."  
  
"So I guess this skirmish took place somewhere around Alderaan," Zekk guessed. Foln nodded, not a customary Devaronian gesture but one he had probably picked up from humans.  
  
"Good," Zekk muttered. "I'm not too far away from there now. Anything else?"  
  
"No, not at all. Wouldn't want to keep you from you're merry hunt." Foln gave the Devaronian version of a chuckle that looked a lot like the prelude to a biting attack. His two bodyguards followed suit in an even more grotesque display.  
  
Then, the video and audio began to break up.  
  
"Whoops, whaddya know the signal's breaking up. Wherever you are Foln, its either too far away, or you have bad flatscreen transmitters, or both."  
  
"Well.guess.is goodbye." Foln's voice came in bits and pieces over through the speakers. He reached over to a device on his wrist, and then the transmission ended.  
  
AN/ what do you think so far? Good, bad, please give me a review./ 


	2. Chapter 2

Tseew Tseew  
  
Kima Li fired off a couple of shots at her pursuers, and then dove around the corner nearest her to stop and reload. After popping a power pack into the blaster, she ran down the long, narrow corridor, occasionally trying and failing to open some of the doors she passed.  
  
Tseew  
  
A blaster bolt scored a direct hit to her side. Kima fell down and skidded a little before painstakingly getting to her feet.  
  
In a way, she thought, that blaster bolt to my side probably saved my life. If I'd kept running instead of falling down, that volley that'd passed the space where I'd been would've most likely taken me out.  
  
Limping, the injured woman began to consider killing herself. A quick, painless death. All she would have to do was hold out her blaster to head and BAM it would all be over. She would be dead but so would the deadly secret hidden inside of her head, ensuring that Foln would never get his slimy hands on it. It would be better than being captured and interrogated by Foln.  
  
Having quickly thought it over, Kima raised her blaster to her head as she ran, prepared to shoot herself if necessary. Meanwhile, the soldiers neared closer and closer.  
  
***  
  
"Never seen 'er in my life." The grizzled bartender handed the holophoto of Kima back to Zekk.  
  
"Are you sure?" Zekk pressed.  
  
"Yep. She's a pretty girl though. Girlfriend or something?"  
  
"No." Reaching out with the Force, Zekk prodded into the inner layers of the bartender's mind to extract telepathically what would not be divulged. The bartender had seen Kima. Four days ago. She'd been asking where she could get some fake I D's and a face change.  
  
"What in the Sith did you just do" the bartender asked dazedly as Zekk released him from the Force-trance.  
  
"Nothing," Zekk told him. "I'll have some lomin ale.  
  
"Uh, sure. Comin' right up." He turned and grabbed a glass from a shelf behind the table counter, turning to fill it. When he turned back to Zekk however, his face went ashen and he dropped the glass to the ground.  
  
Zekk narrowed his eyes. "What's going-" he began but he was cut off by the whine of blaster fire and his own blaring Force senses, warning him of danger.  
  
Two blaster bolts whizzed past his left ear and slammed into the bartender. They had to have been fired from a high-powered blaster rifle because they lifted him off of his feet and slammed him into the back wall where carefully arranged glassware was knocked down and shattered by the bartender's impact.  
  
Reacting quickly, Zekk leapt from his perch on his stool and did a log roll under the nearest table. Stopping his roll, he got to his feet and pushed the table up vertically so it could act as a temporary shield against the phantom attackers.  
  
"Get out of here," Zekk told the two shocked Twi'leks that had been sitting at the table. Nodding hurriedly, they ran out through the exit, followed by the rest of the bar's regular occupants, leaving Zekk alone with whoever was out there.  
  
The instant a blaster bolt tore through his 'shield' near his shoulder, Zekk knew that it was not going to be much protection. Using the Force to judge the best time to make to make his move, he jumped from behind the table, pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it. Most of the blaster bolts missed him completely because of the zigzag pattern in which he ran and those that didn't were deflected right back to their origins.  
  
Zekk couldn't see or sense anything that might provide him with cover so he opted to use the Force to its fullest extent, something he really hadn't done since he left the Jedi Academy. He also was able to get a good look at his attackers. There were 3 of them. They wore visored helmets and were decked out in uniforms that marked them as belonging to the Diego Syndicate.  
  
  
  
Tseeeew hissss  
  
Zekk deflected a blaster bolt that came from one attacker into the faceplate of another. The beam tore through the unlucky fellow's faceplate and out the back of his helmet. The others looked down at their fallen cohort, then back at Zekk. Their hesitation cost them dearly. Zekk ran forward and swung his lightsaber in a wide arc, cutting down the remaining soldiers.  
  
After quickly checking his chronometer, Zekk deactivated his lightsaber and strolled out the door to the sound of sirens, already activating the Lightning Rod's main engines on his wrist control. There was nothing left to be found here. 


	3. Chapter 3

Hope joyousness, relief; these were some of the emotions that Kima was feeling when she the trash compacting room on the SS Destroyer with its hatch open. She had a plan - and if only she could make it inside. A surge of Adrenaline suddenly coursed through her and she managed a quick burst of speed that landed her in the compactor room. Desperately, she hobbled to the exit hatch, which was also open and had just made it through to the outside when her pursuers burst through the entrance. Seeing that she was gasping on the floor, the 7 soldiers slowed down, predatory grins on their faces. "It sure took us long enough to catch you, Ms. Li," the one in the lead sneered. "I'm going to enjoy killing you." Then one of his compatriots whispered in his ear. An even more sinister smile blossomed on his scarred face as he looked down at Kima. "My friend has a good point," Leader said. "We want you alive for interrogation. His eyes seemed to light up on that last word. The entire group laughed, a sound that chilled Kima to the bone. "Too bad, morons," she said defiantly, even as the wound on her side began to bleed freely, "but I don't think you'll leave this ship alive." "What?" "You heard me, stupid. You see, you and the rest of the Idiot Squad are dirty, filthy lowlife mercenaries and people like that tend to be so obsessed with their bounty that they don't even know they've walked into a trap." With that, Kima pushed the 'activate' button, sealing the entrance and exit and sealing Kima off from her attackers. When the hatches were closed, they were virtually soundproof so she couldn't hear what the mercenaries were saying, which was just as well, she thought. This wasn't going to be very pleasant. Then the whirring of the compacting motors filled the air as the walls inside the trash compactor began to move towards each other. Kima heard faint 'pings as the soldiers tried to blast their way out, but to no avail. She regretted having been forced to kill her pursuers, she really did but when she thought of what they'd have done to her.ultimately, she'd had no choice. Forcing her thoughts back, Kima determined to focus on the matter at hand. She needed to get off of the ship. The sooner the better. 


	4. Chapter 4

Wham  
  
The jolt that Zekk received through the Force felt something like being slammed into a ferrocrete wall. He had just been sitting aboard his ship, meditating when the unpleasant ripple knocked him to the ground. It took him a few moments to stabilize himself and his thoughts.  
  
After about 5 minutes, he stood up and walked down to the recently repaired refresher system to get some water into his system.  
  
It's really none of my business, he thought. People die all the time.  
  
However, the conscious side of his mind insisted that he check out the blast of death that the Force had sent him and ultimately, that side won.  
  
Quickly, he put on his armor, gloves, boots, and other equipment and went to the pilots seat.  
  
"Computer, search for all life signatures within a 20 K radius." Zekk told the ship's computer. It was a long shot that he would locate Kima; there would probably way too many life signatures for him to differentiate between anyway but his gut instinct told him to do it.  
  
His gut instinct was right.  
  
About 5 K's away was a large mass object with Kima's solitary life signature on it. Zekk guessed there were more before but that jolt he'd received through the Force told him they were now dead.  
  
Probably murdered by Kima, he thought as he reset the ships auto navigator to Kima's location.  
  
***  
  
  
  
The hangar bays, all them were empty. The escape pods Kima had hoped for were non-existent, she realized. Whoever had abandoned the Super Star Destroyer in the first place had probably used them all as means for escape.  
  
This can't be happening, she thought. Now what was she supposed to do?  
  
  
  
***  
  
The instant Zekk saw the Super Star Destroyer, his gut clenched in fear. He'd had way too many bad experiences in his life with all types of Imperial ships not to jump every time he saw one. If Kima had gotten control of a Super Star Destroyer, he was in trouble.  
  
But wait a minute. The Force wasn't telling him of any operational weapons on the monstrosity and as he thought about it, he realized that there was no way Kima could man an entire SSD all by herself. This SSD must have already been abandoned and Kima must have just been chased into the sector and forced onto it as a place to hide.  
  
More confidently now, Zekk slowly landed the Lightning Rod on the huge warship and got out careful to make a telekinetic bubble of warmth and oxygen around himself so he would not freeze or suffocate once he entered the harsh vacuum of space.  
  
He floated around a little bit before once again using the Force to attach himself to the exterior of the SSD. He took out his lightsaber and flicked it on, getting a good grip before carving a large circle out of the hull.  
  
Once he had gone completely around, he stepped back; just in time too as section he'd cut out flew up at breakneck speed into the void of space.  
  
Whooooooossssshhhh.  
  
Concentrating, Zekk slowly inched forward against the force of the air being sucked out of the ship. It took a while but once he was inside, he made a telekinetic seal around the breach he'd created.  
  
Zekk was in an engine room that thankfully had an airtight seal for a door.  
  
Once he'd gone out and onto the main deck, he released the Force buuble he'd cocooned himself in.  
  
20 minutes, he thought. 20 minutes is all it should take to find Kima. 


	5. Chapter 5

"When do you want me to go after her?" Darth Omega asked his master solemnly.  
  
"As soon as possible, my apprentice." Darth Malik stepped out of the shadows of the underground chamber. "It would seem that a new complication has arisen."  
  
"Whatever it is, I will take care of it."  
  
"Will you?"  
  
Omega was slightly confused by this. "Master, is there any reason that I wouldn't be able to deal with this.this complication as you put it?"  
  
"Yes. As you know, Kima has been stranded near Alderaan and a many petty warlords and crime bosses are sending their respective forces to capture Kima and kill anyone who is trying to do the same. Foln is one of those whom I speak of. He has deceived a very capable bounty hunter into capturing our objective and the problem is, the bounty hunter is much too close for my liking."  
  
"If you suggest that a mere bounty hunter would pose-"  
  
"Not just a mere bounty hunter, Omega," Darth Malik interrupted. "A former member of the Jedi Order."  
  
"Even so, my point still stands."  
  
"You are wrong, Padawan. He has thrown aside the ridiculous restrictions that keep the Jedi infidels from reaching their true potential." Malik's voice dropped a notch. "He might even be as powerful as you."  
  
Darth Omega's eyes darkened in fury. "I will find Kima and capture her," He said finally. "And if this bounty hunter interferes, I will kill him."  
  
***  
  
  
  
"Kima. Kima I know you can hear me. Surrender yourself and don't make have to go through the unpleasantness of forcibly incapacitating you." It felt weird to Zekk to be calling out Kima's name like he knew her when they hadn't even met but he was impatient and he had to at least give her a chance to give up nice and easy.  
  
He continued to walk down the deserted hallway, his boots clacking softly on the shiny floor.  
  
Then he got a reading. He couldn't be sure but he would have certainly bet that the alarm bells ringing in his mind were the Force trying to tell him that Kima was very close.  
  
Zekk looked around. There were so many doors to choose from. He stood still and gently probed each and every room with his mind, a strenuous task that he couldn't sustain for very long.  
  
There she was. A slight smile appeared on his face. Drawing his blaster, he kicked open the door to the room he was sure Kima was in, sweeping the area with his blaster.  
  
  
  
Wham  
  
Kima's hand formed into the perfect knife as she stepped out from behind Zekk and chopped him on the neck. Zekk lurched forward, his blaster falling out of his hands but he managed to keep his footing, due to all of the intense reflexes he'd honed over the years.  
  
Kima, seeing that Zekk hadn't fallen reached for the blaster at her side. Zekk gracefully leaped forward and executed a perfect sidekick to her hand, sending the blaster skidding on the ground.  
  
Zekk readied himself into a fighting stance, keeping most of his weight centered on his back foot and keeping the one in front lightly on the ground. This was the first time he'd seen her up close and despite the bags of fatigue under her eyes, she looked better now than in the holophoto.  
  
"Give up Kima," Zekk said. "Don't make me have to hurt you."  
  
Kima's response was a high kick to his chest that sent him reeling backwards. Once again however, he managed to keep his balance, something that interested Kima. She had been trained well by her father in the ways of the Tera Kasii and had mastered the art. She was now beginning to suspect that her opponent had gained mastery of the techniques as well, especially from his fighting stance which mirrored her own.  
  
"Unfortunately, I don't have the same problems with hurting you that you do with hurting me," she told him as they circled each other. "Now that you know where I am, I can't let you leave alive.  
  
Zekk shrugged. "Have it you're way," he said, then charged pulling off a masterful sweep kick that knocked Kima's feet out from under her.  
  
Most people would have fallen to the ground but Kima was able turn her fall into a back flip that landed her on her feet.  
  
Zekk curved his hand into a blunt spear and punched. Kima saw the blow coming just in time though and she applied just the right block to divert the force.  
  
Zekk wasn't through yet though. That attack was just a feint to get her off guard for the real strike. In order to block his punch, Kima had to put both hands away from her head to protect her torso. Zekk stiffened his middle and index fingers and jabbed them onto her unprotected carotid artery.  
  
Kima gasped when she realized what he'd done but by then it was too late. Her vision swam out of focus and she made a feeble attempt to knock his hand away but her touch was as light as a feather.  
  
Zekk watched almost regrettably as Kima lost her balance, falling to the ground.  
  
She'd thought she could beat him, which wasn't that bad of a inference given the martial skills she possessed. Sighing, he picked her unconscious body off of the ground and slung her over his shoulder.  
  
Funny thing, he thought as he walked back down the hallway. Foln had described Kima as a cold-hearted, ruthless terrorist whose only trouble with bombing buildings was deciding what kind of bomb to use. Yet, Kima didn't seem to be like that at all, something that bothered Zekk a little as he carried her back to the ship.  
  
  
  
AN/ Okay, I know that the appearance of two Sith lords outta nowhere is kinda weird and in reality, they're only there because I needed to give Zekk a Force-using foe. Like everyone else in the galaxy, Darth Malik and Darth Omega are after Kima because of the soon-to-be revealed powerful and deadly secret in her head. Got it? Good./  
  
/Oh yeah, and don't forget to Review!!! 


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey D-1," Zekk greeted his droid as he, with Kima slung over his shoulder,  
  
entered his ship. D-1 bleeped a return greeting as well as a question.  
  
"Yes, this is the infamous Kima. She doesn't like a terrorist, does she?" Zekk  
  
walked into the holding cell and put her down on the floor inside, reactivating the force  
  
field when he stepped out.  
  
"Keep an eye on her, will you buddy?" Zekk told his faithful jet-black droid. "I've  
  
got a call to make." He punched in the comm. code that patched him to Foln and a few  
  
seconds later, the Devaronian's face appeared.  
  
"Ah, Zekk, do you have good news."  
  
"I've got her."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I've got her."  
  
"Already?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Excellent." Foln rubbed his hands in glee. "When can you get her here?"  
  
"Depends on where 'here' is," Zekk answered.  
  
Foln's brow crinkled in thought for a moment. "I'll tell you what, you meet me on  
  
my yacht, you know where it is, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good. Meet me on my yacht, I'll take Kima off you're hands and you will be  
  
most generously rewarded of course."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Now we understand each other," Foln said. "Say, what kind of shape is Kima in. I hope she's not severely injured."  
  
"Don't worry; she's got a few bruises but that's it."  
  
"Excellent. Till next time."  
  
Foln's image winked out.  
  
Zekk walked over to the cell where Kima was being held. She was beginning to  
  
show signs of awakening.  
  
"Get her something to eat," Zekk told D-1. "She'll be-"  
  
The ship suddenly shuttered, cutting Zekk off and D-1 began bleeping furiously.  
  
"Yeah, I know D-1!" Zekk yelled as he made his way to the pilot's seat. "Get me  
  
info on whatever the Sith is attacking us. I want info on everything from their engine  
  
capabilities to this guy's shoe size!"  
  
Zekk executed a sharp loop and then as fast as possible, stabilized so he could get  
  
a good look at the attacking ship. It looked like a TIE fighter with a long, narrow nose. It  
  
flew upwards for moment before swinging around for another attack.  
  
"D-1, are you hooked up into the Lightning Rod's computer systems?"  
  
Instead of bleeps, D-1's words rolled across the screen.  
  
  
  
YES  
  
"Good."  
  
Zekk activated the laser targeting systems and put the ship in battle mode.  
  
HE'S TRYING TO GET A TARGET LOCK. EVASIVE MANUVERS ARE  
  
RECOMMENDED.  
  
"Working on it." Zekk yanked the steering rope to the right just in time as two  
  
bright torpedoes whizzed narrowly past and detonated a ways off.  
  
HE'S COMING BACK AROUND FOR A THIRD STRIKE.  
  
"Yeah I know I know. You just worry about that info I requested."  
  
Tseew Tseew  
  
Zekk fired the turbolasers, the bolts skimming above the other ships hull.  
  
THE OPPOSING SHIP IS A SITH INFILTRATOR. IT HAS EXTREMELY  
  
POWERFUL SPEEDS AND IS PROBABLY MOVING AT A FRACTION OF  
  
THE SPEEDS IT IS CAPABLE OF.  
  
THE TARGET LOCK SHOULD APPEAR IN APPROXIMATELY 1  
  
MINUTE.  
  
"Sith Infiltrator huh?" It was a bad predicament he was in and he couldn't keep duking it out with the Sith Infiltrator. "D-1. Forget the target lock. I want hyperspace coordinates ASAP."  
  
Booooomm  
  
THAT WAS A DIRECT HIT. SHIELDS ARE DOWN 25%.  
  
"And the coordinates?"  
  
WORKING ON IT.  
  
Zekk fired the turbolasers again but as before, he missed. "Man, this guy must  
  
have super reflexes or something," he muttered. "No one's that fast."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
Kima was brutally awakened when the Lightning Rod did a swift turn, sending her  
  
careening into the wall of her holding cell.  
  
"Owwwwwwww!" She bounced to the floor. "Where am I?"  
  
She remembered hiding in the abandoned SSD and then, and then that bounty  
  
hunter had come along and defeated her. Unarmed, and that wasn't a very easy  
  
thing to do considering her extensive martial arts training. She figured she was in his ship  
  
now. That he was maybe having some engine troubles but eventually, he'd give her to  
  
Foln who would torture every scrap of information out of her that would help him  
  
achieve his goals. She couldn't let that happen. Somehow, she needed to escape.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
WE HAVE HYPERSPACE COORDINATES.  
  
"Good. Now get us out of here. Our guy is getting a bead on the ship."  
  
As if to prove his point, the ship shuddered from another laser barrage.  
  
HE'S LOADING PROTON TORPEDOES.  
  
"Why's it taking so long for a fraggin' hyperspace jump?"  
  
STOP COMPLAINING. WE'RE GOING NOW.  
  
"Good." Zekk watched as the starlines elongated and the hyperspace engine did  
  
its familiar thrumming.  
  
And they were gone. 


	7. Chapter 7

Zekk walked over to Kima's holding cell to see if she had sustained  
  
any injuries during the recent engagement with the enemy ship. When he  
  
came to the cell, he saw Kima sitting on the ground inside with a look of  
  
defiance on her face.  
  
"What do you want?" she muttered.  
  
"Oh, nothing," he said. "How are you feeling?"  
  
She looked at him incredulously. "Wait a minute, you're going to beat  
  
me up, kidnap me, and imprison me aboard you're ship and then ask me how  
  
I'm doing?"  
  
"Yep. That way I can see if you need medical care or not. I don't like  
  
to deliver damaged goods."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Zekk shrugged. "Okay." He got up to leave, his jacket shifting just  
  
enough so that Kima could see the lightsaber clipped to his belt.  
  
"You're a Jedi?"  
  
Zekk stopped in mid stride. "No."  
  
"Well then how did you get a lightsaber? They're not exactly easy to  
  
come by."  
  
"I used to be a Jedi."  
  
"And you left?"  
  
"Yeah." Zekk was becoming uncomfortable with the topic of  
  
conversation as well as talking casually to a mass murderer so he got up to  
  
leave.  
  
"Wait, before you go just tell me one thing; you seem like a nice guy,  
  
Zekk, which makes me wonder why you would be working for a guy like  
  
Foln." The defiance she had displayed to start with was gone and was  
  
replaced with an almost innocent curiosity.  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"What do you mean 'what are you talking about'? Why are you  
  
working for Foln?"  
  
"Because Foln came to me with a problem, you to be exact. He  
  
probably didn't appreciate all the bombs you were putting in school buses  
  
and buildings so he hired me to capture you."  
  
Kima burst out laughing on the cell floor, pounding the ground in  
  
hysteria. "He told you that?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And you believed him? Man, for an ex-Jedi you sure are gullible.  
  
Aren't you Jedi supposed to have mind reading powers or something?"  
  
Zekk didn't say anything for a minute, deep in thought.  
  
"What? What did I say?"  
  
"Nothing." Zekk looked straight into her eyes, reaching out with the  
  
Force. "Kima, are you a terrorist?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Have you ever broken the law?"  
  
"Well, there was this one time I double-parked my hovercar in-"  
  
"Never mind that." Zekk said, cutting her off. He reached over to the  
  
keypad by the cell and punched in the code to shut off the electric force  
  
field.  
  
Kima gaped in amazement as the force field that imprisoned her in the  
  
cell dissipated, her eyes asking the obvious question.  
  
"My Force senses tell me that you aren't lying so," he smiled, "you're  
  
free to go."  
  
  
  
AN/ There will be action in the next chapter, I promise./  
  
  
  
-Godfather 


	8. Chapter 8

"Has he arrived yet?" Foln sat impatiently on his brand-new yacht, anxiously  
  
awaiting the bounty hunter known as Zekk's arrival.  
  
"Uh, no sir. He's an hour late," Foln's secretary told him. "Have you considered  
  
that maybe he's-"  
  
"Changed his mind? Yes, I have." He sighed. "I want to contact him. Something's  
  
wrong."  
  
The secretary handed him a commlink. "Here sir."  
  
  
  
***  
  
Kima Li awoke to find herself in the same cell on the same ship as before. At first  
  
she panicked, looking frantically around at the confines of the holding area before  
  
realizing that the hatch was open and she could leave anytime she pleased. Then she  
  
remembered what had happened the day before.  
  
"Hey, is everything okay?"  
  
At first she saw black boots and then her gaze trailed up to see the black cloak, up  
  
all the way until she saw the slightly amused face looking down at her.  
  
"Uh, yeah I'm fine. She climbed to her feet rather slowly as the bruises and  
  
discomforts that sleeping on a hard floor all night brought.  
  
"I told you to take the couch," Zekk said.  
  
"What, I feel great." Kima knew she was lying but her pride greatly outweighed  
  
that.  
  
"We're going to have to figure out what to do about this."  
  
"About what?" Kima tilted her head slightly to the side, looking questioningly at  
  
him.  
  
"I'll explain, but do you want to sit down first?"  
  
Kima walked over to the wall and leaned back against it.  
  
"Fine." Zekk remained standing.  
  
"So what exactly is the problem?" Kima asked.  
  
"You. You're the problem. I'm not sure if you've noticed this but you're an  
  
outlaw. A real one, which means that not only is Foln going to be after you but so will the  
  
New Republic and as long as you're on this ship they'll be after me too. That enough of a  
  
problem for you Ms. Li?"  
  
Kima sighed. "I don't get it. Doesn't the fact that you used to be a Jedi give you  
  
some sort of credence with the authorities?"  
  
"The key phrase in there is 'used to be'. I'm not a Jedi anymore. I'm a bounty  
  
hunter which puts me under suspicion right off the bat. I mean, what am I supposed to  
  
say, that I have a gut feeling you're telling the truth?"  
  
"What are you going to do about it then, turn me in? Shove me out the nearest  
  
exhaust port?" Her eyes sparked with a challenging gleam.  
  
"No. However, this whole business does need to be cleared-"  
  
"Just then, D-1 rolled in bleeping something at Zekk.  
  
"Ignore it buddy," Zekk said. "In fact, why don't you just off the comm. systems  
  
altogether."  
  
D-1 tooted an affirmative and then rolled on down the hallway.  
  
"What was that all about?" Kima asked.  
  
"Foln. I was supposed to give you to him a while ago and like I figured, he's  
  
pestering me about my failure to deliver."  
  
"I suspect that Foln's other bounty hunters have already began a search for this  
  
ship so I'll have to get someplace where we can evade capture."  
  
"What do you have in mind?"  
  
Zekk sighed. "I'm thinking about it."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"He should be dead by now!" Darth Malik fumed. "He should be dead and the girl  
  
in our possession."  
  
"He's a better pilot than you think." Darth Omega countered. "He made it to  
  
hyperspace before I could finish him off."  
  
Malik shook his head. "This is not good. Zekk could be anywhere in the galaxy  
  
right now."  
  
"I doubt it," said Omega. "He's probably delivering the girl to Foln, which is a  
  
good thing since Kima will be much easier to secure then."  
  
"You are wrong Omega. I have been monitoring Foln's comm. signals and Zekk  
  
has not delivered her to him. No, I think that he is thinking strategically and strategically,  
  
the best place to go would be Coruscant."  
  
Darth Omega frowned. "I will not ask how you came to that conclusion since it  
  
seems entirely ridiculous."  
  
"Nor will I tell you. Time should tell whether my theory is right. You're job is to  
  
kill Zekk and capture Kima, not question my authority."  
  
Omega winced at the scathing words. "Of course, master."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"Zekk? Zekk what?"  
  
"I don't know." Foln said. "He owns a ship called the Lightning Rod and is  
  
currently harboring a wanted terrorist from my world."  
  
"Mr. Foln, if you could give me a physical description."  
  
"Zekk is about 6' 2", dark hair about 20 years old."  
  
"And this Kima person?"  
  
Foln paused. "She's tall, maybe around 6'. Long, black hair, brown eyes."  
  
The police chief sighed. "I'll put out an APB for the ship Mr. Foln. Who knows,  
  
maybe these guys will turn up."  
  
After saying a quick thank you, Foln shut off his commlink.  
  
"Sir, the private investigator you asked for is here." Foln's secretary came to  
  
stand in front of him. "Should I let him in?"  
  
"Yes, yes." He said with a waving gesture. His secretary nodded and opened the  
  
door to let in a middle-aged human in formal dress attire.  
  
"Sit down. Please." Foln gestured to a white sofa across from him.  
  
After taking a seat, the man took a short moment to polish his glasses before  
  
taking some yellow papers out of his briefcase. "Thank you, Meester Foln for taking zhe  
  
time to see mee."  
  
Foln shot his secretary a covert look that inquired as to what kind of accent this  
  
man had but the secretary came up empty, shrugging.  
  
"Its uh. my pleasure." Foln leaned forward. "Now tell me, Mr. Veel what you  
  
have found?"  
  
Mr. Veel sorted through his papers once more, taking the time to rub the bridge of  
  
his nose. "No vone has seen Keema or Zekk since zhe Star Destroyer eencident. I have  
  
talked with all zhe necessary authoritees and I can also confirm zhat zhey haven't left zhe  
  
sector."  
  
"Hmm." Foln projected an aura indifference even as impatience threatened to  
  
surge up out of him. "What do you predict that Zekk will do now? He has to know that  
  
not only am I going to pursue him but the New Republic as well, something I would think that he wouldn't like."  
  
Mr. Veel stroked his nose. "Are you sure, Meester Foln, zhat Zekk has betrayed  
  
you? A look at Keema's files reveel zhat she vas very extensivelee trained in zhe martial  
  
arts. Perhaps she overpowered Zekk and is now in control of zhe ship."  
  
Foln raised an eyebrow. It was a possibility he hadn't considered. Smiling, he  
  
leaned back. This was going to be a nice, long chat.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kima wanted two things right now. One was a change of diet. She had been  
  
eating Zekk's stale food rations ever since she'd been on the ship and frankly, she  
  
couldn't understand how he ate the stuff. The other thing she wanted was a holovision  
  
channel that wasn't showing her face every five minutes and talking about 'Kima the  
  
terrorist's escape.' It made her sick.  
  
She heard a slight sound coming from the training room that Zekk had set up in  
  
his ship and lazily decided to go see him. It was better thjan wathing the Holovision.  
  
Stretching, she walked down the hallway inside of the ship and turned. There was  
  
the entrance that lacked a door and beyond that, Zekk, who was sitting cross-legged on  
  
the ground, a long shadow being cast by a single lit frame in the otherwise dark room.  
  
Kima was about to say something but then saw the chair that was hanging suspended in  
  
the air in front of him. Leaning back against the doorframe, she opted to simply watch  
  
him levitate things. It could be interesting.  
  
"What do you want Kima?"  
  
Even though Zekk was facing away from her and she'd been virtually silent, he  
  
was still able to detect her, something that unnerved her a little.  
  
"So.have you seen the news?" she asked genially.  
  
Gently, the chair that had been hanging in the air floated down to the ground, the  
  
candle winked out, and Zekk got up, turning to face Kima. "No, but I have a good idea  
  
what the main story is."  
  
"Hmmm." Kima wished that she was a better conversationalist. She had nothing  
  
better to do than talk and here she was, at a loss for words.  
  
"Did you need anything?" Zekk asked when she failed to say something.  
  
"Oh, uh." she said the first thing that came to mind. "Do you have lights in  
  
here?"  
  
Zekk flipped on the light switch, illuminating the room. "That answer you're  
  
question?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Okay." Zekk started to turn but Kima quickly added, "Do you want to spar?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Kima walked inside the room, motioning to the sparring gear hanging from pegs  
  
on the wall. "You know, spar." Her eyes narrowed into a teasing look. "Come on, don't  
  
tell me that with the fighting skills you have you've never sparred."  
  
Zekk thought about it. He had used to spar. a lot back when he was in the Jedi  
  
Academy. Oh the memories that rain of thought triggered. Memories of him and Jaina  
  
and the playful stunsaber matches they'd had.  
  
"You okay?" Kima asked when she saw the faraway look enter his eyes.  
  
"I. yeah, I'm okay." He shook his head and then walked over to the pegs on the  
  
wall, tossing Kima his extra tera kaasi sparring equipment.  
  
"Let's go." 


	9. Chapter 9

"Why do you keep an extra set of sparring equipment on the ship?" Kima asked  
  
curiously as she strapped on the fingerless gloves.  
  
Zekk shrugged. "Back when I was with the Academy, my friend Jaina would  
  
sometimes accompany me when I went away on trips, you know to deliver cargo and  
  
stuff. I learned pretty quickly to pack an extra set."  
  
"Jaina," Kima said thoughtfully. "You were just thinking about her, weren't  
  
you?"  
  
"Guilty," he said softly. "We were good friends."  
  
"Were you just friends?"  
  
Zekk looked at Kima sideways. "Hey, I thought you wanted to spar," he said.  
  
"That was only because I didn't have anything to talk about. C'mon, I wanna  
  
know."  
  
"There's nothing to tell," Zekk told her. "We were good friends. Whether we  
  
would have progressed beyond that, I don't know."  
  
"Oh. Well, why did you leave the Academy?" It was an innocent question but  
  
Kima saw a brief look of pain flash across Zekk's face. "I- I'm sorry," she said. "I don't  
  
mean to reopen old wounds."  
  
"No, its alright," assured her. He sighed. "I'm not really in the mood for sparring  
  
right now."  
  
Kima smiled understandingly and reached over to put a comforting hand on his  
  
shoulder. "Its okay Zekk, I mean, I don't really feel like sparring either."  
  
For a brief instant, their eyes locked and somehow, despite having just recently  
  
met Zekk and under bad circumstances at that, she felt an odd connection with him, as if she'd known him all his life. The room was silent.  
  
"I'd better go check on the ship's systems," Zekk finally said. "If you like, there's  
  
some scalleot casserole in the fridge."  
  
Kima smiled even wider. "Anything but those stale food rations."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"Whoa, was that Zekk?"  
  
Jaina Skywalker had been tinkering around with Emdee's broken repulsor  
  
systems as a favor for her friend Lowie, but at the sound of her departed friend's name,  
  
she dropped the translator droid and rushed to her brother's room.  
  
"What, what is it?" She asked the instant she opened the door.  
  
"Shhhh." Jacen held up a silencing finger to her but was considerate enough to  
  
turn up the volume on his holovision. Jaina didn't even bother to sit down, she just stood  
  
there, staring wide-eyed at the special news bulletin.  
  
". . . And I think it's a rotten thing this kid's gone and done," the unshaved man  
  
on the screen said into the reporter's microphone. "Breakin' the Bounty Hunter's code  
  
and all. Humph, a cryin' shame."  
  
"Excuse me sir," the reporter interjected, "But didn't this 'code' you refer to  
  
expire when the Bounty Hunters Guild disbanded?"  
  
"Well, yeah but still, its just unethical to go say you'll deliver a bounty and not  
  
deliver it when ya' get it, especially if the bounty's a terrorist." The man waggled a finger  
  
at the camera. "I used be a bounty hunter ya' know and I tell ya' I woulda never done  
  
somethin' like this."  
  
"Well, there you have it folks, a look at the quickly developing situation involving  
  
bounty hunter Zekk Raleigh and suspected terrorist Kima Li from the prospective of ex-  
  
bounty hunter Grig Malo. At the top of the hour, we will show the live press conference  
  
that multi-millionaire Foln. Jacen turned down the volume when the reporter began to  
  
talk about a hovercar accident on Coruscant.  
  
"What- what was that all about?" Jaina asked, her brow furrowing.  
  
Jacen shrugged. "I dunno. I just them flash his face on the screen." He chuckled.  
  
"Zekk finally lost that ponytail in exchange for a more reasonable haircut. Boy, I thought  
  
I'd never see the day."  
  
"Jacen!" Jaina reprimanded her brother. "Something is seriously wrong here." She  
  
walked over to the door.  
  
"Hey, where are you going?"  
  
Jaina turned one last time before walking out the door. "I'm going to find Zekk."  
  
Jacen thought about telling her just how impossible that was but decided against  
  
it. His sister had pulled off harder stunts before and, well, she just might pull this  
  
off too.  
  
***  
  
  
  
Kima finally found the refrigerator and was instantly gratified to see plenty of  
  
microwaveable scalleot casserole packages in and took one out. She'd never heard of  
  
scalleot casserole before but it sure looked good enough from the picture on the package.  
  
"There we go," she said to herself once the package was unwrapped and in the  
  
microwave. The timer was set for three minutes so she walked into the main room on the  
  
ship and plopped herself down on a couch. She had only been there a couple seconds  
  
when Zekk walked in from the pilot's room.  
  
"Hey Zekk." Kima patted the spot next to her on the sofa. "Sit down, you look  
  
like you could use some company."  
  
Zekk complied, but sat rigidly. There was obviously something on his mind. "I  
  
was actually wondering if you have any suggestions," he told her.  
  
"About what?"  
  
Zekk looked blankly at her at first before realizing that he needed to elaborate. "I  
  
just saw the news. They're talking about us," he explained. "I can handle pursuit from the  
  
law but I'd rather not be forced into that predicament and rumor has it that that's what we'll be dealing with."  
  
"I-I don't know." Kima told him truthfully.  
  
Zekk sighed. "Well then I have an idea. I have a friend named Lando Calrissian  
  
and I think you'd be safer if I left you with him." Kima opened her mouth to protest but  
  
Zekk raised a hand cutting her off. "Don't worry. Lando's completely loyal. He won't rat  
  
you or me out."  
  
Kima shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Zekk. I want to stay here, with  
  
you." Kima didn't know why she felt any kind of loyalty to Zekk, but she did. She  
  
couldn't describe the feeling but it was there nonetheless. She smiled. "Although those  
  
food rations of yours make leaving a very attractive prospect," she placed a hand on his  
  
arm, "I'm staying."  
  
Zekk looked at her for a long time and then blew out a long, deep breath. "I don't  
  
want you getting hurt Kima, I mean, I can't have that on my conscience."  
  
"Its my decision," she said. "Listen, I practically grew up on Foln's mini- world. I  
  
don't know where my parents are and I don't have any where to go."  
  
"You're point being?"  
  
"My point being that I am probably the most safe with you. I mean, hey you're an  
  
ex-Jedi, a great fighter, and you can levitate chairs. Can Lando do that?"  
  
Zekk raised an eyebrow. "That is a rather moot point Kima, considering the fact  
  
that Lando has his own security force, he owns a city." Kima looked like she was about  
  
to say something but Zekk raised a hand, cutting her off. "However, I will be there with  
  
you on Cloud City- that's Lando's city he owns. We'll both be safer there and it will be  
  
better than sitting around in space."  
  
"OK," Kima said. "Are you sure you're friend will be OK with this?"  
  
Zekk nodded. "Pretty sure."  
  
The timer on the microwave sounded out just then.  
  
"You want to go get that?" Zekk asked.  
  
Kima got up and walked to the microwave, removing the casserole from the tray  
  
inside. She smiled at Zekk once more and then went to the cargo compartment that was  
  
doubling as her makeshift room.  
  
Zekk pulled a packet of food rations from his pocket and popped one in his  
  
mouth.  
  
"My God," he muttered, spitting out the white food. "These things really are  
  
stale!"  
  
"Told you so," Kima called from her room.  
  
"So you did." Zekk got up and walked over to the trashcan, throwing out the food  
  
ration wrapper. How could he have ever liked those things?  
  
AN/ I don't know what Zekk's last name is so bear with me here. 'Raleigh' just came off the top of my head.  
  
-Godfather 


	10. Chapter 10

Cloud City was one of the few sights that actually left Kima Li breathless. She  
  
stared out through the transparisteel as they passed the uppermost layer of clouds. There  
  
was a large structure hovering in the air with many others dotting the scenery.  
  
"Hey Li, think you could stop fogging up my window long enough to get your  
  
shoes on?" Zekk asked from behind her.  
  
Kima turned around reluctantly and scooped up her shoes. "What an amazing  
  
place," she commented, getting her left shoe all the way on.  
  
"Yeah." Zekk smiled. "Did you know that Could City has no actual land, just  
  
different layers of gases?"  
  
"Well then, what happens if you fall of one of those floating cities?" Kima asked.  
  
"You have a long time to regret it on the way down, that is, until the pressure kills  
  
you."  
  
Kima's face turned a shade pale.  
  
"Relax," Zekk told her. You won't fall. Trust me."  
  
Five minutes later, the Lightning Rod was descending into docking port 9. Zekk  
  
extended the landing gear and the ship rolled to a stop. Through the window, he saw  
  
Lando, dressed stylishly as ever with a red cape draped over one shoulder. Zekk noted  
  
with some amusement that Lando's hair was now very short. It was an interesting look  
  
for the former smuggler.  
  
"Your friend Lando is kinda cute," Kima whispered as they stepped out of the  
  
ship.  
  
"Nah, he just wants you to think that."  
  
Once the door closed behind them, Zekk strode forwards at an easy pace towards  
  
Lando who was walking towards him and Kima.  
  
When Lando came within about five feet of the couple he stopped-and scowled.  
  
"Zekk, you dirty, rotten, no good bounty hunter. You have a lot of nerve coming  
  
here after what you did."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"How do you even expect to find him?" Luke Skywalker demanded of Jaina.  
  
"I'm a Jedi, remember. Besides, Zekk and I used to have a pretty strong Force  
  
bond. I'm sure that's not all gone."  
  
"Your mother will never agree to it," Luke said. "You and I both know that if I let  
  
you do this, all the Jedi powers in the galaxy wouldn't protest me from Leia."  
  
"Say that I snuck off of Yavin 4 and that you didn't know."  
  
"She'd never believe it."  
  
Jaina looked at Luke pleadingly. "Pease Uncle Luke. I think Zekk might be in  
  
some real trouble."  
  
"They're saying that he's helping a terrorist avoid capture." Luke told her.  
  
"And you believe that?!"  
  
"No, I just don't want you to do anything that would have negative political  
  
repercussions for Leia."  
  
Jaina paused. "Well what if I disguised myself."  
  
"You're talking about going to extremes for a guy who left the academy of his  
  
own volition. He's gone, Jaina. He's been gone for some time and I think its about time  
  
you accepted that."  
  
Luke saw a look of pain flash briefly across her features and almost regretted  
  
being so blunt with her. Almost. She needed to hear that, even if it hurt.  
  
"However," Luke said, "You may take 5 days off to do whatever you wish." He  
  
held up 5 fingers, the micromotors in the artificial hand whirring softly.  
  
"What's the catch?"  
  
Luke laughed softly to himself at how much she looked like her father Han Solo  
  
just now. "The catch is, you must take someone with you."  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"Lando?" Zekk stepped back. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Lando managed to keep the smile for a couple more seconds before he burst out  
  
laughing.  
  
"I don't get it," Kima muttered, still confused.  
  
Lando was still laughing. "Man, talk about déjà vu. I did the same thing to Han  
  
when he and Leia came here a long time ago." He patted Zekk on the shoulder. "Its good  
  
to see you man."  
  
"You too Lando."  
  
Lando looked over at Kima. "Ah, the famed Kima Li." He took Kima's hand in  
  
his, lifted it up, and kissed it in one smooth motion. "You have become something of a  
  
celebrity over the past month."  
  
"I wish," she said. "Everyone's out for my blood."  
  
"Oh, I doubt everyone," Lando told her. "But still, that's quite a predicament you  
  
are in."  
  
"So do you think you could find her a hotel or something?" Zekk asked.  
  
"I'll see what I can do," Lando replied. He turned and beckoned for the pair to  
  
follow him as he strode towards the large door that led to the city. "Perhaps you would  
  
like to find a nice restaurant," he suggested to Kima when the threesome entered the city.  
  
"Are trying to get rid of me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Kima looked back and forth between Zekk and Lando. "Fine," she said at last.  
  
She walked away somewhat angrily, her long black swishing just as angrily behind her.  
  
***  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Darth Omega smiled when he saw the Lightning Rod enter the atmosphere of  
  
Cloud City. This would be too easy. The instructions that Malik had given were simple:  
  
kill the boy and capture the girl. If inconspicuous capture becomes impossible, then drain  
  
all the memory from the girl's head before you leave and take her later. His master's  
  
words still rang fresh in his mind. He had also been warned for the third time about the  
  
boy's Jedi powers but Omega was not worried. He hadn't met the Jedi yet who could  
  
defeat him, believed such a person was nonexistent.  
  
The Sith lord had to admit that he had been wrong about Zekk's intentions. As it  
  
turned out, the bounty hunter was going to Cloud City. Finding this out had more than  
  
atoned for Omega's mistake.  
  
He keyed the forward thrusters and followed along behind the Lightning Rod, just  
  
out of sight.  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
"What's up Lando?" Zekk asked once Kima was gone.  
  
Lando gestured to a bench. "Please, sit down."  
  
Zekk sat, crossing his arms. "Look Lando, I'm sorry we had to come here and  
  
disrupt everything," he began without preamble.  
  
"No problem." Lando sat down next to Zekk. "Listen, I heard what happened at  
  
the Academy."  
  
Zekk drew in a sharp breath. He had expected as much since Luke contacted  
  
Lando often and the Solo twins along with Tenel Ka, the Dathomiri, visited almost as  
  
frequently. The incident was bound to come up. "Okay," Zekk said nonchalantly.  
  
"Hey, I'm not looking down on you anything. I just want to make sure you're all  
  
right."  
  
"I'm fine. Bounty hunting . suits me."  
  
"Good to hear." Lando smiled. "And what about Kima? Why did you decide not  
  
to deliver her to Foln?"  
  
Zekk shrugged. "I didn't sense that she was lying when she told me that Foln was  
  
lying."  
  
"You mean you sensed with your Jedi abilities?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Lando nodded. "You do know that as of now you are fugitive."  
  
Zekk nodded. "Of course I do."  
  
"Good," Lando said.  
  
Zekk rose. "I don't intend to stay long at all. Just long enough to straighten things  
  
out. You won't tell anyone about this, will you?"  
  
"No way." Lando rose also. "Now we will have to do something about Kima's  
  
hair. They've got pictures of her on every news station and all over the holonet. Its too  
  
distinctive."  
  
"I'll figure something out."  
  
"Good." Lando pointed at a large building with a coned top. That's the best fast  
  
food place we've got. Go get yourself something to eat."  
  
  
  
/AN/ Don't forget to review. 


	11. Chapter 11

"Ha ha ha, she actually told you that?" Lando asked Zekk as he, Kima and himself were sitting in one of Lando's amusement parks. They had stopped there after a quick tour of Cloud City.  
  
Zekk nodded, sipping on his drink. "Yes, and you know what, the rations were stale. I can't believe I didn't recognize it before."  
  
"They are healthy, Kima remarked. "Just the right amount of sodium, fat, nutrients, vitamins, calories, carbs, calcium."  
  
"But no taste," Zekk finished.  
  
Kima laughed. "Exactly."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
***  
  
3 days later  
  
  
  
"Jacen, you're comin' with me." Jaina grabbed her brother's arm and literally yanked him off of the sofa he was sitting on."  
  
"What are you talking about?" he asked. "And who gave you the right to come barging into my room like.whoa, did you get a haircut?"  
  
Jaina ran a hand through her now short brown hair and hair sighed. "Yeah, Raynar clipped some of it with his lightsaber during sparring and I had to get it cut to make it look right."  
  
"OK, now where exactly am I supposed to be going with you?"  
  
"To talk to Zekk," she told him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me. Uncle Luke is letting me go find Zekk but only if I take someone with me, all right?"  
  
Jacen raised an eyebrow. "Have you considered what you will do if you somehow manage to find him?"  
  
"I already know where he is," Jaina told her brother.  
  
"How?"  
  
She smirked. "I made a call to Lando, you know, to see if he'd accepted my idea."  
  
"The one about the new theme park?"  
  
"Yeah. We talked and when I mentioned Zekk, I sensed him drawing back, almost trying to shield his thoughts."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Jaina sighed. "You know, you can be kinda slow sometimes bro. Lando knows something and I'm going to start off by going to Cloud City and asking him."  
  
"But you're gonna do it unannounced?"  
  
"Sure. I don't think Lando will mind."  
  
"He might not even recognize you."  
  
Jaina shot Jacen a dirty look. "My haircut looks nice, thank you very much."  
  
"Whatever you say."  
  
Jaina smiled. "OK, lets go."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
***  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Zekk had no ideas what it was. Maybe the water, the air, the gravity that was lighter than he was used to, something was bothering him. And it was coming through the Force which meant it was not very common. It was like a dark shadow was following him everywhere he went. It was putting him on edge and others were starting to notice.  
  
"You seem really uptight lately," Kima told him simply as they ate at one of the many wonderful fast food stops on Cloud City. Technically, it wasn't a date but she had asked, he'd accepted, and for now that was good enough. Well, almost good enough. Zekk kept looking around and had rarely cracked a smile. Also, his food lay on his tray untouched.  
  
"Really?" he asked. "I'm sorry, its just that I'm a little preoccupied."  
  
"With what?"  
  
Zekk decided to tell her. "I've been getting these weird feelings; through the Force."  
  
"Weird feelings?" she asked. "You mean like premonitions?"  
  
"No, more like a sense of foreboding. Its really creepy and also kind of distracting."  
  
"Oh. Well its OK. Really." Kima smiled as to make him feel at ease. "I'll read something."  
  
"Read something?" Zekk chuckled. "Like what?"  
  
Kima pulled a holotext projector from her pocket and flipped it on. "I just recently downloaded a Mron J'Kartae novel. Its pretty good."  
  
"Oh really. Doesn't J'Kartae write romance?"  
  
Kima raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, is there something wrong with that?"  
  
"No, not really. I don't mind it as long as its well written and not one of those love at first sight kind of deals. I mean, how can you just fall in love by looking at someone?"  
  
"I agree. Personally, I like romances where, you know, you've got two people on opposites sides at first and they get off to a kind of rocky start but then slowly come to love each other." She stopped when she realized that that was a pretty good description of her and Zekk, the first part anyway.  
  
Zekk smiled, deciding not to press it. "What do you say we go take a walk," he said.  
  
"Sure," Kima replied. "But first." she nodded her head towards Zekk's food.  
  
Zekk slid the food tray to her side of the table. "Its yours." 


	12. Chapter 12

"This is amazing," Kima breathed as she and Zekk walked through Calrissian Park, a newly erected botanical park that Lando had told them about. All around the two were exotic and rare flowers from all over the galaxy. The place was a little humid but it was beautiful nontheless.  
  
Zekk gestured to a plant called the Weeping Violet. It was a shade of purple in color and had petals that, when it was a little more mature, would open up. "I've never seen a flower like that in my life," he said. Gently, he let the Force envelope him and he probed the plant, sensing its life force. "It needs special conditions in order to survive," he said, gesturing up to a glowing red light hovering some five feet above the plant.  
  
Kima leaned forward and innocently touched the plant. All of the sudden, thorns burst out, one catching her index finger and piercing the skin. Kima reflexively yanked her hand back, scowling at Zekk who was chuckling.  
  
"It's a defense mechanism in the plant," he explained.  
  
"Defense mechanism? No, I think that Weeping Violet is-"  
  
Zekk was cut off by a jolt in the Force. Instinctively, he ducked, pulling Kima down with him. A lightning bolt seared the air above his head, destroying a nearby plant exhibit. Zekk whirled around to see a figure standing behind them. He was dressed in a black cloak that obscured everything but the lower portion of his face. The man's hand was outstretched and there were wisps or residue smoke hovering around it.  
  
With a snap-hiss, Zekk whipped out his lightsaber. The dark figure did not say anything, he just launched another bolt of Force lightning.  
  
Zekk outstretched his hand in much the same way that the other man was doing and a blue-tinted Force shield appeared in front of Zekk of Kima. Zekk winced at the sheer difficulty of maintaining his defenses against the deadly Force lightning.  
  
The assailant laughed coldly, letting his hand drop for the moment. With a brief gesture, he removed the hood, revealing a strikingly handsome face, marred only by his pupil-less eyes. "I am Darth Omega,' he announced, using the Force to amplify his voice. "Give me the girl and I shall not prolong your demise."  
  
"Ha, that's almost funny," Zekk said as he moved into a fighting stance. He looked around. The place was vacant except for Zekk, Kima and Darth Omega. He shook his head. "You leave and I won't have to kick your Sith wannabe butt to the Outer Rim.  
  
In response, Darth Omega pulled out his lightsaber and a blazing red blade materialized, which was OK. It was when another blade came popping out of the other end of the lightsaber. "What in the Sith is that thing?" Kima asked Zekk from behind. Zekk shrugged slightly. "Looks like two lightsabers that were welded together or something."  
  
Darth Omega grinned and leaped at Zekk and Kima, using the Force to create a sort of flying effect and telekinetically adding momentum to his swing.  
  
With a hissing sound and a flash of sparks, the two weapons collided. Zekk gritted his teeth, trying to keep the upper hand.  
  
Then Omega slipped his blade away and used the opposite blade on his double lightsaber to jab at Zekk. Zekk, having lost his balance with the resistance of the other blade being removed, would have been cleaved in two if Kima hadn't jumped up from behind and delivered a martial arts airborne kick that would have killed most creatures three times over. The only effect her attack had on Omega was to force him back.  
  
Omega glared at her, muttering something in a strange language.  
  
Kima opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out as he psychically attacked her mind, practically ripping the information out that he wanted. Kima fell to her knees and collapsed in psychic shock.  
  
Zekk maneuvered behind Omega and stabbed at his back, a maneuver that would have worked had the powerful Sith not been so fast. He whirled around and immediately intercepted Zekk's blade with one of his own.  
  
The battle was on. Zekk fought desperately, trying to remember everything Luke had taught him at the Jedi Academy. He swung low, attempting to cut Omega off at the knees but Omega blocked that and countered with a lighting bolt that Zekk blocked, absorbing it into his lightsaber.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" he asked between strikes.  
  
"You are not worthy to know." Omega sent another lightning bolt flying at Zekk.  
  
Zekk stopped it with a Force shield. "Try changing tactics," he suggested. "I learned a long time ago how to defend myself from Force lightning."  
  
"As you wish." Omega stepped back and deactivated both blades of his lightsaber, putting it back into his cloak. He held both hands out in front of him, palms facing towards each other. At first, nothing happened but then a small spark of light appeared between his hands and that soon grew into a sphere easily the size of an adult's head.  
  
Zekk frowned. He could feel Omega's energy increasing vastly, as if he were now tapping into a different and much greater power source.  
  
Omega's hands were glowing now and he gave cold smile. "Catch," he said, and then launched the energy at Zekk.  
  
Zekk leaped high into the air and the ball of energy zoomed past underneath him. It crashed into a fountain and the entire stone structure went up in a sizzling fireball.  
  
Zekk landed lightly on his feet, assuming his fighting stance.  
  
"You can't hope to defeat me. Just surrender and our life will end quickly and relatively painlessly."  
  
"What's the word I'm looking for?" Zekk asked right before ducking a glowing ball of energy. "Oh yeah. NO."  
  
"We shall see how sarcastic you are as a corpse," Omega shot back. Both of his hands began to glow and two deadly energy spheres erupted from his palms.  
  
Zekk called upon the Force and with it propelled himself high into the air. The energy globes whizzed by underneath him towards a group of flowers but at the last instant changed their course 180 degrees and back towards Zekk.  
  
There wasn't much he could do about it since he was falling so he simply used the Force to increase his downward velocity, allowing the two energy projectiles to fly right over him. With a tuck and roll to dispel some of the impact, Zekk leapt to his feet.  
  
The two balls of energy were hovering right in front of Omega. "Your reflexes are pitifully slow," he said, "and now that I have been given the opportunity to test them, I will finish you-"  
  
Zekk was pretty sure the next word out of his mouth was going to be 'off' but he never got the chance to find out because a loud, and surprisingly familiar voice cut Omega off.  
  
"Over here!"  
  
Zekk's eyes went wide. "Jaina?" 


End file.
